


Taanab After Everything

by camshaft22, thedarlingone (Curuchamion)



Category: Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Yuuzhan Vong, Cultural Differences, Fade to Black, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, New Republic era, post-military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:27:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camshaft22/pseuds/camshaft22, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curuchamion/pseuds/thedarlingone
Summary: After three years out of contact, Hobbie goes to Taanab for refuge. Wes is waiting.
Relationships: Wes Janson/Derek "Hobbie" Klivian
Kudos: 12





	Taanab After Everything

**Author's Note:**

> We don't own anything but our cars.

Wes liked his farm on Taanab. He really did. He had keedees and a couple of horned tsaphyrs, and he'd made friends with most of his neighbors, and the few specific people he'd left Taanab to get away from were on the other side of the planet (or dead) and didn't attempt to interact with him. Life was good.

It was just… well. He had a very big farmhouse. And yes, he could and did fill it with gatherings of friends both Taanabian and off-planet, but -- sometimes it was a very big, very quiet, very empty place to live.

Right now, Wes was sitting at his kitchen table, chin leaning on the back of the chair he was sitting backwards in, feet twined around the legs, scowling thoughtfully at a child's coloring page as he carefully filled in part of it with purple scribbles.

***

Hobbie paid the driver and stood on the edge of the property, wondering if he needed to announce his arrival or just stroll in. He pressed his hand to the gate sensor and it slid open. So he hadn’t been completely forgotten. Hobbie sighed and tried to dismiss the unkind thoughts. Too much Ralltiir, too much living on a world that was sweetly sickening and where you couldn’t trust anyone. He didn’t know why he was here but he hoped for at least a welcome. 

It had been a very long time.

Hobbie approached the door after the long walk and rang the chime. Maybe Wes would at least let him have some water before he yelled. Hobbie was dressed in regular clothing for the first time in awhile, not the high fashion that came with being a First on Ralltiir. It was foreign and welcoming all at once. Hobbie waited and hoped, hoped that maybe Wes would see the real him still.

There was a scrambling noise, and the door slid open. Wes stood there, blinking up at Hobbie in surprise. He was barefoot, dressed in battered but comfortable-looking casual trousers and a threadbare sleeveless undershirt that showed off his muscular, tanned body.

"Hobbie?" he asked, staring as if he couldn't quite believe his eyes, though a smile began to spread across his face almost at once. "I… Come in, come in. What brings you here?" He stepped back a bit to let Hobbie enter, but also reached out his arms, offering a tentative hug that Hobbie could step into or brush past.

“Hi Wes,” Hobbie greeted with a faint smile. “You invited me once. Thought I’d take you up on it,” he told him, hesitating then exhaling sharply before stepping into the hug. He hugged him, starting to relax for the first time in a long time.

Wes hugged Hobbie tight, lifting him right off his feet, and took a step back into the living room, spinning Hobbie completely around in a circle before setting him back down on his feet. "Hobbie," he said, joy filling his voice. "I thought -- I didn't know if I'd ever see you again. Kriff, you don't know how glad I am. Why are you here? Can I help with anything?" He didn't let go, arms still resting around Hobbie's waist, brown face shining with delight at seeing Hobbie again.

“Sorry,” Hobbie apologized. “I’m here…” he trailed off. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” Hobbie said with a rueful look. “I need to hide for a moment.” 

Wes blinked, but recovered quickly. "Well, you can hide here for as long as you want," he said promptly. "Hiding from something I might need to shoot, or?"

“Maybe?” Hobbie shrugged. “Ralltiir is terrible.” 

Wes snorted. "So's Taanab. Just a different kind of terrible." Reluctantly, he let go of Hobbie and stepped back. "Can I get you something to drink? Water, beer, tsaphyr's milk -- that one's kind of an acquired taste." He flushed a little. "And I, uh, I still keep some turbofizz around. Just in case." He glanced away awkwardly.

“Wow. I haven’t had that in like three years. Is it that old or is it a bit fresher?” Hobbie asked, smirking a bit. 

Wes rolled his eyes cheerfully. "I kept it up to date. I wouldn't offer you stale turbofizz, Hobbs," he said, dimpling a bit.

“Thank you. Thank you very much,” Hobbie told him. “I would love some.” 

Wes turned and headed toward the kitchen, waving Hobbie after him. "Come along, Hobbs," he called. "You want to tell me anything about who or what I might have to shoot, or will I just find out when it shows up?"

“Well, I’m now the most powerful man on Ralltiir due to my Mother and my Brother’s machinations. I’m a Third as you know. So everyone is pretty ticked off,” Hobbie said tiredly, following Wes into the kitchen and sitting down at the table. “I had a pretty bad attempt on my life so I retreated for now. They can’t do anything without me so I’m holding up some stuff. Because kriff them that’s why.” 

Wes whistled. "I did not wake up this morning expecting Ralltiiri political assassins to be on the day's agenda."

"No one but a Ralltiiri does,” Hobbie responded.

"Should I dress up?" Wes asked, gesturing at himself and raising his eyebrows as he offered Hobbie a bottle of turbofizz. "Does it offend social propriety if they get gunned down by a barefoot farmer in dungarees?"

“I think that would be beautiful,” Hobbie said, taking a long drink. “But I doubt they’ll do anything. This is a power move on my part and something they can’t actually do much about. I called a recess for a few months anyway. What I should be doing is trying to shift the vote but I’m exhausted.” 

"Aw," Wes said sympathetically. He fetched a glass of water for himself and sat down opposite Hobbie. "So rest. If you have a few months, you can stay in my guest bed as long as you want. Any of my guest beds," he said, waving a hand expansively. "You may have noticed when you were walking up. It's a big house and there's only one of me."

“It’s a lovely house. I like it,” Hobbie complimented. “I’ll have to contact some of my allies but I may take you up on that a lot longer than you’ll appreciate.” 

Wes snorted. "Hobbs, we flew together for what, twenty years? It'll take me a lot longer than a few months to get sick of your company." The grin slipped a bit, and Hobbie saw the honest softness in his eyes. "Seriously, Hobbie, I am so kriffing glad to see you alive and well, I can't even tell you. Anything you want, I'm here for you."

“I’m not…” Hobbie trailed off and shook his head. “I’m glad to see you too. It was hard leaving. But I’ve done some really shitty things, Wes. So you may regret telling me that.” 

Wes set his glass down and went serious. You could lose yourself in those brown eyes, Hobbie realized. They were deeper, more thoughtful than most people ever got to see.

"You remember my first kill, Hobbs?" he asked softly. "How you reacted when you found out I'd shot down an Alliance pilot before we ever met? That you'd spent eight years flying side by side with a… a murderer?" His voice shut down a little bit over the word, but he snapped his fingers. "Just -- 'I trust you, Wes.' Just that. So…" He pulled in a deep breath, shut his eyes for a moment. "I trust you, Hobbie. Whatever you've done, if it was necessary… I believe you. I trust you. Anything you need, anything you want. I'm y--" He stopped for a second. "I'm here for you."

Hobbie looked at him and reached out, cupping his warm cheek. “Thank you,” he said gently. “I’m going to kiss you. If you have an objection, please do so now.” 

Wes licked his lips and tilted his chin toward Hobbie. "No objections," he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Hobbie kissed him, pulling him closer as he felt the touch of someone who actually loved him for the first time in years. Wes kissed back, first gently, then more eagerly, scooting toward Hobbie and pulling him closer as well. Hobbie broke the kiss and pulled back, hands still cupping Wes’s face. “How long?” he asked, panting a bit.

Wes's eyes were wide and dark, his lips flushed red. "Since forever," he said simply.

Hobbie smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Same,” he said, sounding dazed. “I couldn’t risk you… I couldn’t risk it. I’m sorry it took so long.” 

Wes's mouth quirked, a fleeting dimple appearing in one cheek for a second. "We're both idiots," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Look, I…" He sighed, and Hobbie could feel Wes's big hands, now resting on his shoulders, fidget a bit with the fabric of his shirt. "I don't want to push you, Hobbie. You want the guest bed, it's yours. But if you want to… well." He blinked, almost shyly. "Start making up for lost time? I'm--" He shrugged one shoulder. "I'm open to that. To anything."

“I want to make up for lost time. While we can,” Hobbie told him. “Please.” 

Wes stood up and drew Hobbie to him in a deep, passionate kiss that held twenty-odd years of longing and love all at once. Hobbie stood, returning the kiss and held him. “Take me to bed,” Hobbie told him then kissed once more.

After a moment's breathless kissing, Wes pulled away for a second. "You sure you don't want to just take me right here?" he asked, teasing. He was panting slightly, his hands already sliding up under the hem of Hobbie's tunic to find warm skin.

"I mean, I could," Hobbie told him, hands drifting down his body. "But I feel like breaking your table would make me a poor houseguest."

"That's fair," Wes agreed, squirming a little with anticipation. "Let's go see if we can break the bed instead."

***

Wes lay flopped back on the bed, sprawled out naked and blissful, as he lazily watched Hobbie return from the fresher where he'd deposited the damp towels. Hobbie was so damn attractive, long and lean and angular. There was so much more Wes wanted to do with him, so many more ways to explore that lanky body and learn how they could give each other pleasure. In his youth, he'd have been eager to go again already; he still had as much enthusiasm, but from this side of forty, his body's slowing stamina was forcing him to learn patience. They'd have time. He'd make sure they had time to make up for all the years they'd wasted.

"You're so beautiful," he told Hobbie, his words slurred and thickened a little by the afterglow. 

Hobbie got into bed and pulled the covers up around them. “Thank you. You’re gorgeous yourself,” he said, pressing a gentle kiss on Wes’s forehead. He got close, wrapping an arm around Wes. 

Wes snuggled up to Hobbie, pulling him close and twining one leg between Hobbie's bony knees. "Anything you want to tell me about?" he asked. "Ralltiir or assassins or just… how you've been doing lately. The ins and outs of the galactic market," he joked. He wanted to hear everything, where Hobbie had been since they parted, what had happened. He wanted to have been with Hobbie the whole time, but this was the next best thing.

"Well, you remember when I got the comm message, right?” Hobbie asked. Wes nodded. It had been in the morning, slightly after their retirement when Hobbie disappeared. When he'd returned, Wes had had to pry the story out of him as Hobbie struggled to understand. His family were dead and he was the last surviving Klivian. There had been a lot of cuddling that day before Hobbie had to leave him for Ralltiir.

“Well, as soon as I arrived," Hobbie continued, "I had to take possession of my family’s assets. I became a First. The Ralltiir elite forgot I had been trained to take my sibling’s places but they soon figured out I wasn’t to be trifled with.” 

"You're a badass," Wes told Hobbie fondly, stretching up to nuzzle a row of kisses along the side of his neck.

Hobbie laughed. “My mother had consolidated a lot of power and now it was mine,” he continued. "But like all things, I have to work with the other Families. Now, every so often assassins will come after me but that’s just life on Ralltiir.” 

Wes nodded, rubbing his head against Hobbie's jaw, rubbing Hobbie's scrawny back with one hand. "Anything different about these assassins, or you just decided it was finally time to bring me some target practice?" he asked.

“I needed to retreat and I need to consolidate votes for my next step. I’m trying to improve the conditions of Thirds,” Hobbie explained. “It’s not popular if you can imagine that.” 

Wes snorted. "People in power always hate it when the oppressed underclasses start getting rights," he said. "Tycho could say it fancier, but it's true. So do you need a hot bodyguard?" he joked, pressing a kiss to the angle of Hobbie's jaw.

“I…” Hobbie hesitated. “I wouldn’t do that to you. You’d be miserable, Wes. But I’m glad you’re willing to do this.” 

Wes pressed his face into Hobbie's thin chest for a moment. He'd spent twenty years worrying about going too fast, making a move at the wrong time, spoiling what they had together. He was still nervous to put words to everything he felt, but… they'd wasted so much time already. "I'd do anything for you," he murmured, barely above a whisper.

“I know,” Hobbie said, kissing his head. “But I won’t ask it of you. I’m just going to hide here for a bit, see if they do come here and if they do, then we take them out.”

"Without stopping to dress up fancy first," Wes said. "I should probably take them more seriously, shouldn't I? But your planet is ridiculous and I have trouble believing their assassins are terribly competent."

"They took out an entire party. A hundred people were killed," Hobbie told him. "They might be a bit better than you expect."

Wes pulled a face. "That's just sloppy. Well, unless they specifically got the hundred people in the same place to kill them, then it's efficient. Was it the exact hundred people they wanted, or was it like three people and a bunch of collateral damage?"

"It was to kill about 14 people and the rest were supportive of what was being done," Hobbie explained. 

"Still sloppy," Wes said. "But clearly we should just stay in bed so they can't get us by blowing up my speeder or anything." He pulled Hobbie's head down and started kissing him again, nibbling and sucking gently at Hobbie's full lips.

"They'll just take out the house," Hobbie muttered before they started kissing again. 

"They better not," Wes muttered between kisses. "I like this house. Do you have a better idea?" He ran his hand down Hobbie's spine and squeezed his bony, barely-there ass. "Unless they get within blaster range as identifiable assassins I can't really shoot them."

"Not yet," Hobbie said. "I've been distracted," he muttered, hand cupping Wes's ass. "I'm just… tired."

Wes wiggled around so he could run his free hand through Hobbie's hair. "Then rest," he said gently. "Either they blow the house up or they don't. If they dare to show their noses in person, I'll shoot them. If they don't…" He shrugged and very deliberately rocked his hips against Hobbie's, hinting at pleasures yet to come, though neither of them was recovered enough yet to start another round in earnest. "There are worse ways to go out."

"You're incorrigible," Hobbie grumped and kissed him again. 

"It's my specialty," Wes chuckled, leaning into the kiss.

"As much as I would like to continue, I've been awake since yesterday on Ralltiir. I don't actually know what that makes it local Taanab time? Do you mind if we sleep?"

Wes hugged Hobbie tight, his heart overflowing with love. "Sleep, Hobbie. Sleep and dream of pleasant things. I love you and I'll be here when you wake up. Or if I'm not, I won't be far. Just getting breakfast or using the fresher." Oh, kriff, he loved this man so much. "I'm so glad you're back."

“For as long as I can be,” Hobbie promised as he cuddled and relaxed in Wes’s arms.

***

Hobbie opened his eyes, warm and comfortable. He glanced around, not recognizing the room. “Muh?” Hobbie sat up a bit more, trying to make sense of the area he was in. Half by instinct, he fumbled in the pile of clothes by the side of the bed and found his hidden vibroblade.

There was a brisk little knock on the door, and Wes bustled in with a big tray of something. "Morning, grumpypants," he chirped.

“Morning, Wes,” Hobbie told him with a grin. “I wasn’t sure where I was,” he admitted and leaned against the headboard.

"Long as you don't shoot me before you figure it out," Wes said placidly. "I made breakfast." He did something complicated underneath the tray, and it extended a set of short legs. Wes set it down on the bed across Hobbie's lap, then shucked off his undershorts and clambered back into bed next to Hobbie.

“I didn’t have a blaster handy, lucky you,” Hobbie told him, holding up the vibroblade. He started eating hungrily. “Thank you,” he told him. 

"That isn't lucky, that's smart," Wes retorted, beginning to dig in as well. "You think I didn't frisk your clothes before I left the room this morning?"

“You are a genius,” Hobbie told him. “Sometimes.” 

Wes preened a little. "I try," he said fake-modestly.

“So what are the plans of the day?” Hobbie asked, picking up a piece of breakfast meat. 

Wes gave Hobbie a hungry look. "Well, we could just stay in bed and fuck each other through the mattress some more," he proposed cheerfully. Then, leaning against Hobbie just a touch, not enough to jostle him but enough to snuggle his shoulder against Hobbie's, he continued, "Or, between rounds of amazing, wonderful, long-overdue sex, we could go look at the farm security systems and make sure everything is up to snuff against Ralltiiri assassins with no sense of proportion. And then fuck in the hayloft." He wrinkled his nose. "On second thought, let's not fuck in the hayloft. Hay is itchy and full of bugs."

Hobbie laughed. “I would prefer not to fuck in the hayloft. Do you remember that mission where we got stuck in one for hours?” he asked him. “But yes, we should definitely make up for lost time. I don’t think anyone knows where I went to. At least not yet. We have a few moments.” 

Wes nodded with a soft, fond smile, slathering jam on a slice of buttered toast. "You know," he mused between bites, "I always felt it was kind of... " He licked a drip of jam off his hand. "Pretentious to call it 'making love'. Like… it's sex. Fucking. It's fun." He half turned and met Hobbie's eyes. "I love you, Hobbie. I want to make love to you. Over and over again. I want to show you just how fucking much I love you, every day for as long as we can have together."

Hobbie looked at him. He leaned in and kissed him, tasting the jam on his lips. “I love you too. I love you so much,” he said and turned his head to steal a bit of his toast. 

Wes laughed and kissed Hobbie again, still tasting of jam and buttered toast. "Let's finish breakfast before we move on to dessert," he teased, trailing his free hand up the outside of Hobbie's thigh to his hip joint. "It'd be a shame to knock all this lovely food on the floor because I can't keep my hands off you."

“Good plan,” Hobbie told him. “Food first, sex next.” 

"And then security inspections," Wes agreed. "And maybe a blowjob in the orchard. It's nice out there. Lots of trees to lean against." He smirked.

“Good to know,” Hobbie said with a smirk. “Much experience with that?” he asked. 

"I'm just being efficient," Wes teased. "It'll take us at least a few hours to inspect all the security setup around the farm. We're not that decrepit yet."

“Of course not,” Hobbie replied. He finished his breakfast. “I’m ready when you are.” 

Wes stuffed a last bite in his mouth. "Let me put the tray in the kitchen," he said, leaning up for a lingering kiss. "Then… dessert?" He winked.

“My favorite part,” Hobbie told him. 

Wes purred softly in his throat. "I'll be right back," he said, and scrambled out of bed.

***

"The security fencing around this part of the farm," Wes said, waving his arm across the fields they were tramping through, "is mostly designed to keep out rancors." He and Hobbie were both dressed in sturdy bug-proof trousers, snake-proof boots, lightweight shirts, and big shady hats. He'd slathered Hobbie's wiry frame generously with sun protection ointment before they set out, because Hobbie was way too pale to brave Taanab's fierce sun the way Wes did every day.

“That makes sense,” Hobbie told him. “That would be very devastating,” he glanced at his datapad. “I looked up your fencing. I doubt they’d try to disable it. Can you think of any other way of getting in?” 

"On this part of the property? No," Wes said, shrugging and shaking his head. "If they bring in a ship and just strafe the house from the air, we're depending on the airbase for protection, but on the ground, this is pretty much all just the rancor-proof fencing. The protection against aircars and that is closer to the house, we went over those parts already." They'd been working their way around the farm in something between a grid and a spiral. Wes made it a point to check every meter of the anti-rancor fencing visually every so often anyway, so this last loop was incorporating that part of his regular routine into Hobbie's tour.

“If I were going to attack your farm, I’d probably have members of my team engage the pilots while I flew low and headed out here. Then I’d eject, let my ship crash into the farmhouse, and then once I landed, check for corpses,” Hobbie told him. 

Wes blinked. "Crash after strafing the buildings, right?"

“No. That’s too obvious that I was trying to kill the occupants. If I eject and crash the ship, then if I’m caught, I can lie and tell them there was a tragic accident. Which is why I would eject and then check the area. Make sure my targets were dead with fast acting poison if they happened to survive the accident,” Hobbie explained. 

Wes tilted his head thoughtfully. They were still walking side by side through the fields, but he could take his eyes off the ground for a moment without tripping into a pile of manure. Probably. "Poison applied how? I mean, I guess if we were unconscious that could work. But what if one of us is still conscious and has a blaster? Is your hypothetical assassin prepared for that?" He shook his head. "Maybe I'm just too much of a pilot, but I don't like the idea of deliberately going within range of someone who may still be alive and who you just tried to kill if you don't have to."

“They’re relying on the fact that we’re probably injured. Also, we don’t have an army on Ralltiir. We depend on New Republic protection just as we’ve relied on Imperial and Old Republic protection. We don’t have soldiers. We have assassins for lack of a better word.” 

Wes sighed and shook his head. "Not to dismiss the risk at all, but they just don't sound very… good, to me."

Hobbie stared at him. “I feel like I’m not explaining things very well. Because we are,” he stressed. "I know how to… end a life. I know how we think.” 

Wes actually stopped walking for a moment and gave Hobbie a long, thoughtful look. He'd known there was a lot he didn't know about Hobbie, but… "You. An assassin?" he asked. Not disbelieving, just… "Didn't you join the Academy at nineteen?"

“Yes,” Hobbie told him. “But I had already killed by then.” He didn't sound regretful, or proud. He just said it.

"Okay," Wes said, a bit blankly. He wasn't sure how Hobbie expected him to react. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it, either. Sure, they'd all started their combat careers in their teens, him and his closest friends, but that was… well, combat. Not… assassination. He felt like he should probably be more upset by the revelation than he was. He started walking again, beckoning Hobbie along with a jerk of his head, scowling and shoving his hands in his pockets as he wrestled with feelings that didn't want to be pinned down.

Hobbie followed. "Sorry," he said. 

Wes shook his head. "Don't be. I'm just… it's a lot."

"I know," Hobbie told him. "It's ok." 

They walked in silence for a while. They passed through that field, and a different field, and the orchard, and went down a set of narrow stone steps next to a waterfall by a creek. At the bottom of the steps, Wes stopped again. "I mean, I still trust you," he said awkwardly, not quite looking at Hobbie. That was all there was to it. It didn't matter what Hobbie had done, or how long ago. He trusted Hobbie. Loved him, too. 

"You probably shouldn't," Hobbie said with a sigh. "I'm not the man you used to know. I'm back on Ralltiir. I'm… I'm like them again."

Wes met his eyes evenly. "You're gonna have to get more specific," he said. "You're like which of them, how? You think of Thirdborns as property?" He let a half-smile quirk his mouth to show he was at least partly teasing, but his eyes stayed serious.

Hobbie scowled. "No. But I haven't done anything to dissuade everyone else from doing so. I use Thirds as staff…"

"And you pay them well, put your radical notions into their heads, and are currently hiding from assassins on a kriffing agriworld because you're making noises about them being people with rights," Wes suggested drily. "Sounds a whole lot like nothing to me."

"I wanted to see you?" Hobbie asked with a wince. 

Wes shrugged, just a little, still holding his gaze. "Did you make up the assassins?" He didn't think Hobbie had, but he wanted to make a point.

"Of course not," Hobbie replied. "I just don't know if they'll bother to come here." 

"Then this was a good place to get away from them, dumbass," Wes told him fondly. "But if there are assassins after you, obviously you've riled somebody up. Maybe not as much as you'd want, sounds like Ralltiir's the kind of place where you send assassins out if Aunt Milba sneered at your gossamer pie last Taungsday, but some." He smirked up at Hobbie a little.

Hobbie cracked up. "It is," he affirmed. "I'm afraid I'm not going to succeed… or they'll send me to the Senate so I can't do anything." 

"Ooh, fate worse than death," Wes joked gently. "Better watch out or you'll become Chief of State. There was a Corellian once in the Old Republic who did that. His political enemies kept trying to get him out of their hair by promoting him and he wound up becoming Chancellor."

Hobbie laughed. "That's… you know that's what would happen." 

"Exactly," Wes agreed. "And I'd make a terrible Vice-Chancellor and you know Leia will shoot you herself if she has to come out of retirement to be Vice-Chancellor, so you just better not." He stretched up a little to offer Hobbie a kiss.

"I'll make Tycho do it," Hobbie told him and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around Wes's waist. 

Wes shut his eyes as they kissed, long and slow and loving, enjoying the feel of Hobbie's lean frame in his arms and Hobbie's tender lips against his. Hobbie broke the kiss and grinned.

"You know," he said idly. "There is a tree, just over there." 

Wes turned his head. "Looks nice and sturdy," he agreed. "Giving you some ideas?"

"Several," Hobbie told him. "Shall we go over them?" 

"Sounds good," Wes said, trying for light and teasing, missing it and landing squarely in head-over-heels smitten. Sithspit, he'd be so happy to just spend the rest of their lives together like this. The deep-hidden, fond desire in Hobbie's blue-gray eyes… Wes pulled Hobbie's head down to steal one more kiss before they turned to investigate other possibilities.

***

Hobbie sat up in bed with a holocomm active. A woman dressed in solid black appeared when it finished connecting. Wes was asleep next to him and Hobbie couldn't resist petting his shaggy hair. "Good, I was hoping you were at the house. Good morning, Sel."

"Good morning, First One," she said. Hobbie gave her a look as she laughed. Sel looked amused, instantly relaxing and acting like she wasn't on duty. "You'll never guess what we found on the grounds."

"A bomb?" 

"You guessed after all! I had Sloane take care of it. He's gotten quite good at defusing them." 

Hobbie sighed. "Tell him thank you. Please be careful." 

"Of course," She promised. "The Families are quite pissed at you. All except Ms. Faryia." 

"That's because I did her a favor. Debt is always a good way of gaining allies."

Wes grunted and burrowed his face into the side of Hobbie's hip, trying drowsily to pull his legs into a hug. "mmmHobbie?"

"Yes, Wes?" Hobbie asked. Sel straightened immediately. He shook his head at her and she relaxed. 

Wes twisted around and blinked up at Hobbie. "S'sup?" he asked, still sounding sleepy. He squinted sideways at the holocomm unit.

Hobbie smiled gently, seeing him so relaxed. The instant wakefulness of their war days had finally eased for him. "I'm checking in. This is Sel, she's pretty much my XO."

"Hello, Mr. Janson. I've heard much about you." 

Wes pulled himself up in bed, sitting next to Hobbie, and waved. "Glad to meet you, Sel. So you're who's been watching Hobbie's back while he's been away?"

"Doing my best," she told him. "We found a bomb this morning!" 

"While he's not even there?" Wes said, looking between Hobbie and Sel. "No offense to either of you, but I'm still not very impressed by the quality of Ralltiiri assassins."

"They were targeting us. But I can see why you'd think that, Sir," Sel told him. 

Wes flapped his hand casually. "I haven't been a Sir since I retired. Call me Wes. If that doesn't offend Ralltiiri propriety."

"If you want to get another job, I'd be happy to pay you your full term," Hobbie told her, looking worried. 

Sel scrunched her nose up. "Wes?" she asked. "Has he always been like this?" 

Wes snorted. "Always," he said, leaning up to kiss Hobbie's cheek. "Tell her, Hobbs."

"Excuse me for being worried. You know they're targeting you because of me," Hobbie said and wound an arm around Wes's waist. 

"We knew that when we started. You're one of us and it's not like we were getting much better treatment elsewhere," Sel scolded. "We're handling it. No one wants to quit and even if they did, we'd have a hundred more wanting the position." 

"See?" Wes mumbled, still nuzzling Hobbie's neck and jaw. "You're making a difference."

Hobbie nodded. It didn't feel like it. But apparently… He kissed Wes's head. 

"I went ahead and forwarded the edits to the other Families. They won't be pleased but it's as airtight as we can make it. Shall I let you know when you should return?"

"Yes. If you would, please," Hobbie asked. He knew they needed to discuss things. But wasn't looking forward to it. 

"I'll stall as long as possible," she promised. 

"Thank you, Sel. Please be careful if you go to the Districts tonight." 

"I will. Although, I've been mostly staying here. It's easier to protect your house that way. Enjoy yourself, Sir." 

Hobbie nodded. Sel grinned at Wes and waved farewell as the connection ended. "I think you have a fan." 

"She just likes me because I'm keeping you out of the way," Wes teased, running his hand up under Hobbie's shirt.

"True," Hobbie agreed. He held Wes tight for a moment. He was going to miss this. 

***

Wes set the bowl of grain cereal down in front of Hobbie at the kitchen table and another one at his place. "So," he said, sitting down opposite Hobbie. "You have to go back to Ralltiir pretty soon." 

"Unfortunately, yes," Hobbie told him. "Thank you."

Wes nodded. Hobbie was not a talkative man at the best of times. Wes was going to have to carry a lot of this conversation, much as he'd prefer to ignore the whole topic. "So, uh. How does that affect… this?" he asked, waving his hand in the air between them.

Hobbie stared at him for a few moments. “I don’t know. I’d like for it to not end. But Ralltiir.” 

"Ralltiir," Wes repeated, agreeing with a heavy heart. "So the way I see it, we have two options. Either I tag along to Ralltiir as your hot new bodyguard, or I stay here and…" He shrugged, a little awkwardly. "Anything that involves the words 'oasis of peace' is a little corny even for me. But, you know. Keep making it so there's a little corner of the galaxy you can visit where people aren't shooting at you. And where someone… l-loves you." He still struggled to get the words out. It just felt like so… much. "You'd have to promise to visit," he rushed on. "As often as you could. Or I'll track you down and have Sel help me put you in binders so I can drag you back here."

“It’d be nice to have somewhere to go,” Hobbie said wistfully. “I love you too. But I would feel terrible if I took you from your home,” he told him. “Sel will ship me here herself but I definitely promise. You’re so important to me. I would’ve died without you. I love you.” 

Wes reached impulsively out across the table and squeezed Hobbie's hand. His eyes were stinging. "We should eat," he said thickly. "Before I take you back to bed and show you just how much you mean to me."

“I think I could arrange for you to do that. I have a clear schedule,” Hobbie told him, holding Wes’s hand while he took a bite of his breakfast.

Wes laughed wryly. "For now."

***

Hobbie gathered his things from the speeder at the spaceport, not wanting to go but also needing to. He was dressed in his Council finest, knowing that he would have to hit the ground running to gather support. He hesitated, wanting to be with Wes. If only it wouldn't hurt him so much. "So, I suppose this is it," he said lightly. 

"For now," Wes said, a tight smile on his lips, forced lightness in his eyes. "You're due back here in six months, don't forget."

"Of course," Hobbie agreed. "I see you and Sel are already running things."

"It's what we're best at," Wes said, walking beside Hobbie as they headed for the freighter's docking ramp. "Your campaign needed two XOs and you know it."

"Apparently," Hobbie allowed. "Thank you for everything." 

Wes wrapped his arms tightly around Hobbie and hugged him like he'd never see him again. Which could very well be the case. "Write me, comm me, tell me everything," he said, his voice taut as he tried to force lightness into it.

Hobbie hugged him back and kissed his soft curls. Force, he would miss this. "Of course. You definitely need to know if I should need an escape." 

"Don't tempt me," Wes muttered. Then he dragged in a deep sigh and pushed Hobbie away from him. "Go. Before I drag you back home and tie you to the bed." The wry smile on his lips didn't reach his eyes.

Hobbie grinned. "I'll bring binders next time," he purred. 

Wes reached up and cupped Hobbie's cheek with one hand, love shining from his dark eyes. " _Go,_ " he said, pleading with Hobbie not to test his resolve further.

"Love you. Be seeing you," Hobbie told him, trying for light. He didn't want to go and he knew Wes was hurting. They'd faced so many dangers together, and now he was asking Wes to let him go into danger alone, without being able to protect him. "Go home. I'll be on Ralltiir soon enough." 

Wes tilted his chin up and pulled Hobbie's head down for one final, bittersweet kiss. "Come home safe," he said, as if the words could magically guarantee Hobbie's return. "I love you." Then he turned and walked away without looking back.

Hobbie watched him go. "Love you too," he said somewhat belatedly. He turned and walked up the ramp. Hobbie had things to do before he could return home to Wes.


End file.
